NAZRUL Islam received possibly the biggest cheer of the night when he was named Nursery/Primary Teacher of the Year.

The senior school improvement leader at Feversham Primary School has been treated for three types of cancer and suffered a stroke in recent years, but returned to the job he loved.

He had also been nominated for the Business in Schools Award, for his work on Dragons’ Den style enterprise projects in his school.

After being named Nursery/Primary Teacher of the Year he said: “I am lucky to be here. I didn’t think I’d be here today.

“The reason I went back to work is because I love the job. I want to carry on teaching as long as I can.”

He had taken a year-long break from teaching after his first battle with cancer, only for it to return in 2014 when he was diagnosed with cancer of the neck and thyroid.

He told the T&A he was surprised to have been nominated for two awards, let alone winning one. He said: “When I first got the email saying I’d been nominated I thought someone was pulling my leg. I didn’t believe that I’d been nominated.

“It is a great honour to get this award. I never thought I’d get here when I was having the chemotherapy and all the other treatments. I came out the other side and ended up getting a stroke too.

“People didn’t expect me to go back to my job, but I just love doing it. They let me come back because of my experience. I’m so lucky to be where I am.”

Speaking of his Business in Schools nomination, he said: “I like being a dragon every year. My first degree was in business management, so I enjoyed looking at the areas the kids can exceed in business. It is not always the brightest kids that do the best.”

Honorary mentions:

Tom Van Der Gucht - Baildon CofE Primary

Glenda Cumberland - Ben Rhydding Primary School